


just be

by epsiloneridani



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, cody needs to take a break, obi-wan conspires with Ghost Company
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:01:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24800497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/epsiloneridani/pseuds/epsiloneridani
Summary: The war ends, and Cody still has no idea how to take a break. Obi-Wan helps.Cody and Obi-Wan. A quiet moment of camaraderie.
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody & Obi-Wan Kenobi, No Romantic Relationship(s)
Comments: 35
Kudos: 208





	just be

**Author's Note:**

  * For [phantom_of_the_keurig](https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantom_of_the_keurig/gifts).



“This is ridiculous, General.”

Obi-Wan quirks an eyebrow at him. In the dim light of the rising dawn, Cody can just barely make out the amusement twinkling in his eyes. Kenobi hefts his pack to sit more securely on his shoulders and tightens the waist strap so it stays snug.

“We have better things to be doing,” Cody presses.

“Like inhibit the repair crews?” Obi-Wan suggests, and Cody barely manages to suppress a wince. It doesn’t matter, where Obi-Wan is concerned; they know each other so well that having no reaction is just as telling as an actual response. Kenobi’s mouth curves up slightly.

“Or,” his Jedi suggests, “perhaps we could get thrown out of the medbay for being an inconvenience to Sol.”

“He’s just cranky.”

“He’s cranky because you were in his way,” Obi-Wan says pointedly.

Cody snorts. Serving with Kenobi has diminished Sol’s attitude, but it certainly hasn’t eliminated it entirely: he’s just gone from being blatantly disrespectful to begrudgingly cooperative.

“Sol showed up to the 212th with that attitude. I didn’t give it to him.”

Obi-Wan rolls his eyes, then crosses the space between them in three easy strides. “Come now, Commander,” he says, taking hold of Cody’s shoulders. “Are you really trying to tell me that some fresh air wouldn’t do you good?”

“I have work to do,” Cody says, and hopes the stern note in his voice is enough to dissuade Kenobi. Obi-Wan frowns.

No such luck then.

“We can’t do anything until the _Negotiator_ is repaired,” Obi-Wan says. “If we return to the ship now, we’ll only be in the way.”

Cody snorts. Obi-Wan pats his shoulder with a small smile. “Surely spending a few hours on a hike with me isn’t so daunting a prospect.”

“No, General,” Cody sighs. Obi-Wan holds his gaze a moment longer, then lets go and steps back. Cody adjusts his own pack and follows him up the path.

It’s not a steep incline. The air is cool; the grass sparkles with dew. With only his spare supplies and no armor, and at the pace Obi-Wan has set, it feels more like a leisurely stroll than an attempt at getting actual exercise.

“That’s the point.”

Cody glances at him. Obi-Wan’s smile is warm. “This isn’t for training, Cody,” he says. “This is for…fun.”

“I don’t hike for fun, General.”

Kenobi rolls his eyes. “The war is over, Commander. We have only to repair the ship and return to Coruscant. Please be assured that you are very much allowed to do something to relax.”

“Our men aren’t,” Cody says. “Relaxing, that is.”

Obi-Wan stops, suddenly. Cody tilts his head at him. “You are here because I spoke with several members of Ghost Company,” his general says, “and we agreed that you needed to get some fresh air.”

Cody tries to look slightly taken aback at the insinuation, but all he manages is a short huff. He’s not surprised in the least. Sol, in his not-so-subtle way, has been demanding he take a step back for weeks. That he finally went to Kenobi is something Cody should have expected.

Dimly, Cody realizes he did expect it. He just didn’t think anything would come of it.

“You have given everyone leave to breathe except yourself,” Obi-Wan says. “You can’t—”

“—take care of anyone if I don’t first take care of myself,” Cody finishes dryly. “I’m aware, Kenobi.”

“I’m glad to hear you have paid some attention to me. I’d hate to think I’d been wasting my breath for all of these years.”

Cody shoves his shoulder. He fights at the fond smile pulling at the corners of his mouth, but it breaks through as surely as the sun on the far horizon. Cody shakes his head. “I wish you’d listen to _me_ more,” he says.

“I do listen to you,” Obi-Wan says calmly, and begins to walk again. Cody falls in step.

“No,” Cody says. “You don’t.”

Obi-Wan, to his credit, does a very convincing job of looking offended. “Please,” he says, pressing a hand to his heart, “when have I ever disregarded your sage advice?”

Cody almost stops dead in his tracks. “You’re joking,” he says.

“No. Genuinely. When?”

There’s a note of easy teasing in Obi-Wan’s voice that Cody has never heard before: light, not dry. Briefly, he wonders what Kenobi was like before the war carved those dark lines beneath his eyes. “You really want to go there?”

“Is there some reason I shouldn’t?”

“Mygeeto,” Cody huffs. “I said don’t charge the tank line. You charged the tank line.”

“No,” Obi-Wan says, “I jumped _onto_ the tank line. I didn’t charge it.”

“That’s semantics and you know it.”

“Is it? I should think the distinction would be important.”

Cody blows out a breath. “I’m not going to debate with you, negotiator.”

Obi-Wan scoffs. “Please,” he says. “Not that again. I still can’t believe you and Block conspired to rename the ship that.”

“It’s Block’s ship,” Cody says, and smirks. “He can call it whatever he wants.”

Obi-Wan side-eyes him. The wan morning light casts his face in a pale golden glow. He looks younger here, less burdened by the bodies and the blasts. For that, Cody decides, he would take a hundred stupid little strolls up a sort-of-tall hill.

“Do you remember when we first met?” Obi-Wan asks. “You loathed me.”

“You weren’t the first Jedi to lead us,” Cody returns. “I had plenty of reason to have reservations.”

“I’ve proved most of your fears unfounded, I hope.”

It sounds like an offhand remark. Cody knows better. “More than you know,” he says, and pours sincerity into his words. Obi-Wan glances at him. Cody gives him a warm smile; Kenobi returns it.

They fall into a comfortable silence. The air is crisp, so different from the stale, recycled mix on the _Negotiator_. Cody slows to a stop and takes a deep breath, distantly aware of Kenobi beside him.

When he opens his eyes, Obi-Wan’s smiling at him.

“Don’t,” Cody says, fighting back a grin.

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t say ‘I told you so.’”

Obi-Wan holds up his hands. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he says, and Cody gives in to the grin. Kenobi nods toward the crest. “Come. There’s plenty of hill left.”

“Hardly,” Cody says, but there’s no bite to it.

They make their way to the peak. Forests and fields sprawl out beneath them, bathed in radiant fire. Obi-Wan’s hand presses to his shoulder. Neither of them speaks. There’s no need. For a moment, Cody feels light – free.

For a moment, it’s enough to just be.

\--


End file.
